PASSION, PRIDE, PERFORMANCE

Canada’s top men’s players aim to qualify for 2019 World Men’s Team

Submitted by editor on Tue, 2019-09-10 12:57

2019-09-10

Ottawa, ON (September 10, 2019) -- The 2019 WSF Men’s World Squash Team Championships are fast approaching, and Canada’s best are looking to secure a spot on the roster. For the first time in history, the 2019 Championships will take place in the United States of America, in the nation’s capital of Washington, DC for seven days with 23 countries participating for prestigious title from December 15-21, 2019.

The historic event dates back to 1967, when countries all over the world sent their strongest male players for an international showdown in Australia. Since then, the tournament has maintained its core purpose and traditions, taking place bi-annually and switching venues with each event.

In order to determine who will be representing Canada at the upcoming event, Squash Canada will host two qualifying tournaments – a Pre-Trials from September 14-15 and a Trials from October 3-5. The results of these will determine 3 of the 4 team members plus a non-travelling reserve to join Nick Sachvie, the 2019 Canadian Men’s Open Champion, who automatically receives a spot on the team.

First, a pre-trials tournament is staged to determine two players that will be invited to compete in stage two of the selection process. The pre-trials are being held at 10X Toronto, a luxury athletics club, where four Canadian players, including Cameron Seth, David Mill, Jason Delierre and Mohanad Heikal will face each other in a round robin draw.

Cameron Seth is nearing the top 100 in the PSA World Rankings and gave Canadian squash icon Shawn Delierre a run for his money at the 2019 Canadian Men’s Open, losing in a close five-setter.

“I've never played in the World Team Championships before, so I am very excited for the opportunity to try and qualify,” said Cameron. “Getting through the pre-qualifying is the first step, but it certainly won't be easy! There are some of the top juniors and university players in Canada taking part and I will need to play my best to get past this stage.”

Representing the youngest competitor in the trials is David Mill, who was recently crowned champion at the 2019 U23 Canadian Championships. He is also a member of the men’s squash team at Western University, notorious for being the strongest university squash team in Canada.

Mohanad Heikal recently won the 2019 Canadian University and College Championships and finished right behind David Mill in 2nd place at the 2019 U23 Canadian Championships.

The final participant is Jason Delierre, who will be looking to join older brother Shawn at the Trials. He has been a fierce competitor in Canadian squash for years and will prove to be a challenge to beat at the Pre-Trials.

The top two finishers of the Pre-trials will move on to the Trials to be held at the Badminton and Racquet Club in Toronto. Canadian stars Shawn Delierre, David Baillargeon, Andrew Schnell, and Mike McCue have already qualified and await the Pre-Trials qualifiers.

Shawn Delierre is a veteran of the Canadian squash scene, and currently our highest ranked in the Men’s PSA World Rankings (82). He finished in 2nd place at the 2019 Canadian Men’s Open.

David Baillargeon has made a steady ascent up the PSA World Rankings, currently sitting at #104. He finished 5th at the 2019 Canadian Men’s Open, after losing in a close five-setter to fellow Trial participant, Andrew Schnell.

Andrew Schnell has represented Canada at many team events over the years, including multiple Pan Am Games and World Team Championships. He recently brought home two bronze medals from the 2019 Pan Am Games in Lima, Peru.

Mike McCue recently finished 4th at the 2019 Canadian Men’s Open and won his first PSA title at the 2018 Mount Royal University Open tournament.

Canada’s top athletes will compete in highly contested matches in an effort to claim a spot on our squad heading to Washington, DC for the 2019 WSF Men’s World Squash Team Championships.

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"The process for qualifying to represent Canada at the Men's World Team Championships in December begins next weekend with pre-trials at 10X in Toronto. Some of our best home-grown players will get a chance to qualify for trials to compete against the best players in Canada at the Badminton & Racquet club in Toronto. It is exciting, and while not all our top young talent will participate, there is certainly some great talent to challenge our top players for the honor of representing Canada on the biggest stage." – Martin Heath, Squash Canada High Performance Director

Results from the events will be posted here upon the completion of the events.